Polity · 1992 CE – present
State of Eritrea
إرترة · ኤርትራ · Eritrea
Also recorded as Eritrea
- Peak recorded area
- 120,897 km²
- 1889 CE
- Rulers on record
- 11
- from 1993 CE
- Data series
- 337
- 1992 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. Its capital and largest city is Asmara. The country is bordered by Ethiopia to the south, Sudan to the west, and Djibouti to the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The country has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
5 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 69.15years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 3.6Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -6,698persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.08% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 71.22years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 67years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 115 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 1,106int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd48 obs · 1992 CE–2019 CE | 2Bcurrent US$2019 CE · IMF World Economic Outlook |
| Female Labor Force Participation35 obs · 1990 CE–2024 CE | 72.85%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Labor Force Participation Rate35 obs · 1990 CE–2024 CE | 78.34%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Unemployment Rate34 obs · 1991 CE–2024 CE | 5.95%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Youth Unemployment Rate34 obs · 1991 CE–2024 CE | 10.06%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 41 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Armed Forces Personnel27 obs · 1993 CE–2020 CE | 202Kpersons2020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score24 obs · 1993 CE–2016 CE | 0.0023CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production24 obs · 1993 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel24 obs · 1993 CE–2016 CE | 202Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption23 obs · 1994 CE–2016 CE | 922Kcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure % GDP23 obs · 1993 CE–2019 CE | 10% of GDP2019 CE · CIA World Factbook 2024 |
Territory & resources
6 of 50 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %62 obs · 1993 CE–2023 CE | 5.69% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %62 obs · 1993 CE–2023 CE | 8.63% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Co2 Emissions Mt Co2e55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 0.778mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Co2 Emissions per capita55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 0.22t_co2e_per_capita2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Methane Emissions Mt Co2e55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 4.53mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Nitrous Oxide Emissions Mt Co2e55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 1.28mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
Governance
6 of 27 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.068index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.009index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.01index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.064index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Largest Govt Party Vote Share49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 0percent2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 47 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.021index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km63 obs · 1905 CE–1975 CE | 306km1975 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10050 obs · 1960 CE–2022 CE | 59.12per_1002022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Who Skilled Birth Attendance39 obs · 1985 CE–2023 CE | 291.36%2023 CE · WHO Global Health Observatory |
| Dpt Immunization %32 obs · 1993 CE–2024 CE | 95%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %32 obs · 1993 CE–2024 CE | 93%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
11 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Isaias AfwerkiHead of Government1993 CE –
- Isaias AfwerkiHead of State1993 CE –
- Michael Murrayambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2002 CE – 2006 CE
- Kibreab WoldemariamGovernor of the Bank of Eritrea2004 CE –
- Nicholas Astburyambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2006 CE – 2008 CE
- Andrea Reidyambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2008 CE – 2009 CE
- Sandra Tyler-Haywoodambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2010 CE – 2012 CE
- Amanda Tanfieldambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2012 CE – 2014 CE
- David Wardambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2014 CE – 2016 CE
- Ian Richardsambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2016 CE – 2019 CE
- Alisdair Walkerambassador of the United Kingdom to Eritrea2019 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
- Government type
- authoritarian
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President ISAIAS Afwerki (since 24 May 1993); head of government: President ISAIAS Afwerki (since 8 June 1993); cabinet: State Council appointed by the president; election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term), according to the constitution
- Ethnic groups
- Tigrinya 50%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Afar 4%, Kunama 4%, Bilen 3%, Hedareb/Beja 2%, Nara 2%, Rashaida 1% (2021 est.)
- Natural resources
- gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
- Economy
- largely agrarian economy with a significant mining sector; substantial fiscal surplus due to tight controls; high and vulnerable debts; increased Ethiopian trade and shared port usage decreasing prices; financial and economic data integrity challenges
Language & currency
- Currency
- nakfa (ERN)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1993 CE –
- Ethiopia–Eritrea Non-Aggression Pact (2000)Historical alliance · member2000 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Central Intelligence Agency (2024). The World Factbook. Washington, DC.
Public Domain (US Government work)
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
IMF World Economic Outlook9.0.0
International Monetary Fund. World Economic Outlook (WEO). https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:WEO
© IMF, https://www.imf.org/external/terms.htm
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
WHO Global Health Observatory2024
World Health Organization (2024). Global Health Observatory data repository.
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
State of Eritrea is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.